9 things to know when travelling in Costa Rica

You’ve booked your flights, now what? Here’s a list of things that we would have found useful if someone had told us before we went to Costa Rica.

1. Use Interbus

A comfortable, reliable network of minibuses you book online or at your hotel; they pick you up from one hotel and drop you at the next. Also carbon-offset, which is nice.
→ Visit the Interbus website for more.

2. It’ll take time to travel

Google Maps says 2hr 35min by road, so it’ll be at least 5 hours. Roads are slow and windy; use the added time to admire the amazing views.
→ For a great offline map, download ‘map.me’ onto your phone

3. Learn basic Spanish

Most people seem to understand at least a basic level of English, but a bit of Spanish will really help.
→ We found this phrasebook gave us a good headstart

4. Ask for help

Ticos are a friendly bunch, and we never experienced anyone unwilling to help us, even when we were looking for a rival restaurant.

5. It can rain quite a bit

When it rains, it RAINS. It does rain an awful lot (even more in wet season), but with such regularity that you can plan around it. Ask locals for the most accurate weather forecast you’ll ever hear.

6. TripAdvisor is your friend

Thousands of great reviews, but take some with a pinch of salt; many Costa Rica reviews seem to expect a higher level of luxury than was ever promised, and mark places down as a result.